I used to plan my runs to/from Boone to coincide w/the race in N. Wilkeboro. Daytona used to be OK to watch, although the stands were not made for sitting very long (they made a fortune off of selling seat cushions- but the seats were still cold in Feb.), and the far side of the track is all but invisible if there's any haze, and even if clear you need binoculars to see any sort of detail. And depending on where you were at, you couldn't see the pits, either. GOOD Daytona $eat$ were hard to come by- I'm sure there are guys here who know what I'm talking about...

Living in the Orlando area for 40-plus years, I got spoiled- they would open a section of the stands for people to watch practice, no charge. Later they began charging a small amount to get in. A couple empty Coke cans would get you into the Shootout some years. During practice the cars would be still in primer, the only way you knew who it was was by the number or if you knew what the helmet looked like and had binocs.

But compared to a short track race, Daytona was a snoozer- even before there were restrictor plates. There's be runs where the field was basically frozen for an entire fuel/tire run, depending on what rules Nascar burped up for that year. At the track, there's no sensation of speed unless you're dumb enough to get right against the fence, looking down at the roofs of the cars. That would last about 15 seconds until they were firmly told to go take a seat or back away from the fence. The ONLY way I'd sit through another Daytona race was if I had a pit pass.

Better racing could be seen at New Smyrna Speedway during Speed Week (late models and modifieds, etc.) than on the tri-oval IMO. Standing OUTSIDE the fence at NSS, kitty-corner to the third turn, put you closer to the racing than sitting in the grandstands at Daytona! Saw Earnhardt race there (and lose) and didn't even know who he was- then.

Well, today's was 3 hours of my life I'll never get back. I kept falling asleep and didn't feel like I missed anything.

For those who hate all the "Danica" talk, I was about ready to throw something through the TV if I heard one more mention of the Gordon/Bowyer thing.

What I saw was that the Daytona was FAR better. Daytona was much more like it was back in the late 60's where if you made a mistake and attempted a pass you couldn't complete, the entire field blew on past you. In today's race, there was almost no penalty for getting it wrong - a screw-up would only cost you one spot!

If you think the "good ol days" were those with Richard Petty, Cale Yarbrough, David Pearson, Hemi Superbirds and 429 Fairlane Cobras etc etc, then last week's Daytona was a 100% return to that style of racing, while today's Phoenix race was the ultimate slow motion waste of time and effort.

I would have fallen asleep no matter what was on. As I can't go anyplace except around the home. I did wake up when my wife started yelling at the TV cheering Carl on, so I got to see the end of the race.

NASCAR has really screwed up the racing, they made the cars safe, but you can't pass. OH well maybe next week.

Carl is a class act IMHO and I was glad to see him win again- finally. One race short of 2 full years w/o a win, according to the talking heads. He's better than that. Just goes to show you that it's as much about the team and chemistry as it is the hard parts.

Then there's poor ol' pile bush- his teammate Denny Hamlin loses a valve spring, so they swap pile's out for safety's sake, and wouldn't you know they get it wrong and the engine blows when they crank it back up for the first time after swapping springs. Bye bye- back of the pack for you both. At least Hamlin had a good finish (3rd), but pile and his malcontent brother finished back mid-pack somewhere.

Carl is a class act IMHO and I was glad to see him win again- finally. One race short of 2 full years w/o a win, according to the talking heads. He's better than that. Just goes to show you that it's as much about the team and chemistry as it is the hard parts.

Then there's poor ol' pile bush- his teammate Denny Hamlin loses a valve spring, so they swap pile's out for safety's sake, and wouldn't you know they get it wrong and the engine blows when they crank it back up for the first time after swapping springs. Bye bye- back of the pack for you both. At least Hamlin had a good finish (3rd), but pile and his malcontent brother finished back mid-pack somewhere.

finely a good race,detona should become a shoping center.will watch vegus hope it is the same as phenex.

Carl is a class act IMHO and I was glad to see him win again- finally. One race short of 2 full years w/o a win, according to the talking heads. He's better than that. Just goes to show you that it's as much about the team and chemistry as it is the hard parts.

Then there's poor ol' pile bush- his teammate Denny Hamlin loses a valve spring, so they swap pile's out for safety's sake, and wouldn't you know they get it wrong and the engine blows when they crank it back up for the first time after swapping springs. Bye bye- back of the pack for you both. At least Hamlin had a good finish (3rd), but pile and his malcontent brother finished back mid-pack somewhere.

clearly you've never been around Carl.. for any lenth of time..
class act. not a chance,
can't wait till the blue #2 put him in the fence again..

He always talks to the reporters, even after screwing up or blowing up or wrecking out. Always. He took losing the championship like a MAN. He never said anything but what you'd expect to hear from a good sport- something that's sadly missing from many of the privileged, spoiled "elitists" out there nowadays.

His fellow competitors (w/a few exceptions- there are ALWAYS rivalries) have nothing but good things to say about him- even drivers of cars other than Fords.

Now, I've never spent time w/him- he's not a friend, or even an acquaintance. But I am willing to bet YOU haven't spent any time w/him, either, and he's no friend or acquaintance of yours.

finely a good race,detona should become a shoping center.will watch vegus hope it is the same as phenex.

For good or bad, I'm betting Nascar will tweak the specs quite a bit going forward.

They ought to be made to run the same body panels that are on the production cars, like I suspect was the meaning of "stock car" mentioned earlier- not meaning running a front wheel drive V6 or something as stupid as that.

Some of the coolest/bizarrest cars came to be, because the factories were looking for an advantage, aero-wise, and that was because they HAD to run sheetmetal very close to the same thing found on the showroom floors- the reason for the homogolized cars from the factories. There were years that if the factory missed the boat as far as how aero efficient the car was, that make sucked until the next model came out.

There's no real reason that couldn't be done today. Maybe not ALL the sheetmetal, but a hell of a lot more than what they have now- which is basically nothing, or maybe the deck lid. If they had to run the hood, deck, quarters, A- and B-pillars and a close reproduction of the bumper covers, that would make them race differently, w/the added benefit of maybe something showing up on the showroom floor that wasn't designed to put you to sleep.

He always talks to the reporters, even after screwing up or blowing up or wrecking out. Always. He took losing the championship like a MAN. He never said anything but what you'd expect to hear from a good sport- something that's sadly missing from many of the privileged, spoiled "elitists" out there nowadays.

His fellow competitors (w/a few exceptions- there are ALWAYS rivalries) have nothing but good things to say about him- even drivers of cars other than Fords.

Now, I've never spent time w/him- he's not a friend, or even an acquaintance. But I am willing to bet YOU haven't spent any time w/him, either, and he's no friend or acquaintance of yours.

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